New Parent/AFOL -- What is a good deal?

[brickbert1000]

Hi,

I was a big fan of Lego growing up in the 80s (mostly classic space) but this year was the first time I purchased a set since then. My daughter is now lego age and into building and playing, and honestly it has been a great excuse for me to get into Lego again too. I even bricklinked some missing parts to a few of my olds sets. Lots of nostalia seeing LL924 and the Solar Power Transporter put together again!

For new stuff, I'm mostly buying Star Wars, Creator, Friends, and City. I live in the US and never pay full retail for anything anymore (Amazon, Ebay, etc.). So, my question to experienced buyers, what do you consider a good deal for popular sets in these themes?

There was recently a Toys R Us sale (yes, I know about their inflated prices) that seemed pretty good to me. 20% off actual retail price for a whole bunch of Star Wars and City sets AND $5 off over $25. Plus free shipping with a Shoprunnner trial.

So I got:

Tie Advanced for $27 - 33% off retail of $40

Mos Eisely for $50 - 29% off retail of $70

I also had my eye on:

Jedi Defender for $55 - 39% off retail of $90

AT-DP for $35 - 30% off retail of $50

Cargo Truck for $22 - 45% off retail of $40

But didn't real know how good of deals these really were so didn't pull the trigger. I would like to pick up some more sets currently out but am not in a hurry if it pays to wait until Christmas, etc.

So, what do you consider a good deal? Is there a certain time of year that the good deals usually show up?

Also, there seems to be a lot of fans for ordering on Lego.com but even with double VIP points that seems be equivalent to 10% off ($10 off for every $100 spent). Amazon usually has 20% off as pretty standard. Am I missing something there?

Thanks!

[LukeWarmTea]

I think a lot of people go for the points plus the promo polybags - personally I've never bought direct from S@H because I'm in NZ!

[Nacho]

You can usually buy cheaper elsewhere than the S@H site but they do carry exclusives, have early access to sets for VIP's and as mentioned above the promo polybags are quite sought after.

I'm new (back into it) again so I can't really assist with when the best time to buy is.

[MAB]

Before you look at how much off, look at the sets. Do you really want them?

Many an AFOL has bought a huge amount of sets when they start out because of the discount, then realised they do not care so much for the sets. Learn what you like, and maybe stick to one or two themes to start with until you know what and how you will display.

[Master_Data]

First off, welcome to Eurobricks!

I think that 20% or above is a decent deal, so you got some pretty good deals on those Star Wars sets! The great thing about Star Wars sets is that they retain their value well after EOL, so you can always sell them when you or your daughter are done with them to make back your money. There's a great site which deals with LEGO investing called BrickPicker. Sometimes the ability to resell after EOL will make a decent deal into an incredible one if you can predict what the aftermarket value will be.

Brickset also has a tab for the top 20 discounts at Amazon, Walmart, and Target under the Buy tab.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Master_Data

[HawkLord]

For sales, I usually don't bother until a set is 20% off or higher. Even then I may be hesitant depending on brick and Minifigure count. Lego used to have some good Black Friday sales, but those have been lackluster the past couple years.

For VIP, I usually wait for really good promos and/or polybags. They don't necessarily have to be ones I want for myself, they can be ones that I can sell to further offset costs.

[Clone OPatra]

I would rank 'good deal' based on how much I would want a set in The first place. This is off the cuff, but I could break it down as follows:

For a set I'm truly considering at full price - 20% off is a nice little saving and I'd do it, though not a deal.

For a set I'm considering but wavering about at full price - 30% off might convince me and 35% off I'd certainly do it.

For a set that I want but wouldn't consider full price - 40% would be a deal and I'd do it.

45% and above is always a good deal no matter the set. Don't throw your money away on something you really couldn't care less about even at that much off, but 45+% off would make you consider more things for sure.

[brickbert1000]

Thanks for the welcome and advice!

MAB – I hear you on not just buying for the discount. I could see getting caught up in buying a bunch of sets early before really figuring out what I like and not having the budget left for something I would enjoy more.

LukeWarmTea – Looks like the polybags can be interesting. Still not sure it’s worth sacrificing a bigger discount elsewhere , but maybe for smaller sets.

I would rank 'good deal' based on how much I would want a set in The first place. This is off the cuff, but I could break it down as follows:

For a set I'm truly considering at full price - 20% off is a nice little saving and I'd do it, though not a deal.

For a set I'm considering but wavering about at full price - 30% off might convince me and 35% off I'd certainly do it.

For a set that I want but wouldn't consider full price - 40% would be a deal and I'd do it.

45% and above is always a good deal no matter the set. Don't throw your money away on something you really couldn't care less about even at that much off, but 45+% off would make you consider more things for sure.

This seems like a pretty good guidline but then the question becomes how often can you find sets at 20%, 30%, and 40%+ off?

Doing a quick CamelCamelCamel (US Amazon price tracker), it seems like you can almost always get 20% off on Amazon US if you are patient. So, would it be fair to say:

20% off - you can almost always get this discount over the life of the set, don't pay more than this unless you need it right away

30% off - much rarer but doable with special sales (like the 20% TRU with additional $5 off coupon, black friday, etc.).

40%+ off - only get for clearance sales, etc. Not reliable for a specific set?

Does that fit other people's experience? Or is 30%+ fairly common?

[Clone OPatra]

30-40% off on Amazon isn't all that uncommon. I'm not aware of their sale schedule, if there even is one, but I've definitely bought sets with those sales in summertime. It will usually be on sets that are at least six months old, and probably even older, nearing the end of stock.

[MAB]

MAB – I hear you on not just buying for the discount. I could see getting caught up in buying a bunch of sets early before really figuring out what I like and not having the budget left for something I would enjoy more.

It's known as the Construct-a-Zurg principle, after set 7591. :-)

[chuychu]

I'd say go for which ever is the cheapest.

In my case, I bought every single one of the trooper packs. At the time four were $10.39 and three were $11.19 at TRU.

75034 Death Star

75035 Kashyyyk

75936 Utapau

75078 Imperial

75079 Shadow

75088 Senate Commando

75089 Genosis

Original price is $12.99 plus 2x VIP. I felt like it was cheaper getting it from TRU.

What do you guys/gals think?

[jaisonline]

Hi,

I was a big fan of Lego growing up in the 80s (mostly classic space) but this year was the first time I purchased a set since then. My daughter is now lego age and into building and playing, and honestly it has been a great excuse for me to get into Lego again too. I even bricklinked some missing parts to a few of my olds sets. Lots of nostalia seeing LL924 and the Solar Power Transporter put together again!

For new stuff, I'm mostly buying Star Wars, Creator, Friends, and City. I live in the US and never pay full retail for anything anymore (Amazon, Ebay, etc.). So, my question to experienced buyers, what do you consider a good deal for popular sets in these themes?

There was recently a Toys R Us sale (yes, I know about their inflated prices) that seemed pretty good to me. 20% off actual retail price for a whole bunch of Star Wars and City sets AND $5 off over $25. Plus free shipping with a Shoprunnner trial.

So I got:

Tie Advanced for $27 - 33% off retail of $40

Mos Eisely for $50 - 29% off retail of $70

I also had my eye on:

Jedi Defender for $55 - 39% off retail of $90

AT-DP for $35 - 30% off retail of $50

Cargo Truck for $22 - 45% off retail of $40

But didn't real know how good of deals these really were so didn't pull the trigger. I would like to pick up some more sets currently out but am not in a hurry if it pays to wait until Christmas, etc.

So, what do you consider a good deal? Is there a certain time of year that the good deals usually show up?

Also, there seems to be a lot of fans for ordering on Lego.com but even with double VIP points that seems be equivalent to 10% off ($10 off for every $100 spent). Amazon usually has 20% off as pretty standard. Am I missing something there?

Thanks!

First off, welcome to Eurobricks!

I think that 20% or above is a decent deal, so you got some pretty good deals on those Star Wars sets! The great thing about Star Wars sets is that they retain their value well after EOL, so you can always sell them when you or your daughter are done with them to make back your money. There's a great site which deals with LEGO investing called BrickPicker. Sometimes the ability to resell after EOL will make a decent deal into an incredible one if you can predict what the aftermarket value will be.

Brickset also has a tab for the top 20 discounts at Amazon, Walmart, and Target under the Buy tab.

Sound advice for the new member.

Depending on location, 20% is a great starting point for discounts. Everyone now and again, retailers will offer BOGOs to get the overall discount into the 30%s and into the 40%s if the sets are already reduced prior to the BOGO. Exclusives (at least in the US) is seldom discounted anymore so using Amazon points, eBay bucks, shop@home points etc... is one way to create your own discount.

Selling Lego after EOL can be risky . You have refreshes to worry about, missing elements, condition, the manual, picking the right sets, etc... However, I found selling sets my son and I don't want anymore is a wonderful way to roll the profits into "dream sets" like 10196,10181, etc...

I always advise folks to buy what you want to build and think about the selling as an afterthought.